thielscher



. 4 Sheets.8heet 2. H.-&' P. THIELSGHER.

SKATE.

Patented Aug. 10, 1897.v

('No MOI-181.)

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(No Model.)

H. 8v P. THIELSGHER. I

SKATE.

No. 587,768. Patented Aug. 10,1897.

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4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

H. & P. THIELSCHER.

(No Model.)

SKATE.

No. 587,768. r Patented Aug. 10,1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN TIIIELSOHER AND PAUL THIELSCHER, OF BRIEG, GERMANY.

SKATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,768, dated August10, 1897.

Application filed March 10, 1896. Serial No. 582,572. (No model.)

To (oZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we,HERMANN THIELSCHER and PAUL THIELSCHER, subjects ofthe Emperor of Germany, residing at Brieg, near Breslau, Germany,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Skates, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to skates; and its novel features consist in thearrangement and construction of the devices for fastening the skate tothe shoe, which parts are adapted to work entirely automatically.

Our improved skate is adapted to be attached to the shoe by merelyplacing the foot on the sole-plate of the skate and pushing the footdownward. To this end our improved skate is provided with means enablingthe same to stand upright upon the ice, so that the skater merely placeshis foot on the skate and pushes downward. The skate is also constructedso as to allow of a quick and easy removal from the shoe.

Referring to the drawings which accompany this specification, we haveshown our new skate in different constructions, the fundamentalprinciple of the invention, however, being the same in allconstructions.

Figure 1 shows a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a bottom view, of theskate without the blade in the locked position. Fig. 3 is a side view ofa skate opened and ready to be stepped into. Fig. 4 shows a detail ofconstruction. Fig. 5 is a vertical and Fig. 6 a horizontal section, andFig. 7 an elevation,of a skate wherein the locking device is located atthe heel of the skate, Fig. 8 being a detail of parts-at the heel. Fig.9 is a vertical and Fig. 10 a horizontal section in locked position of askate wherein the blade itselfis used as a lockinglcver. Fig. 11 is adetail. Fig. 12 is a sectional elevation of the parts in the unlockedposition, and Fig. 13 a detail of certain parts near the toe of theskate. Fig. 14 is a vertical and Fig. 15 a horizontal section of a skatehaving a somewhat similar arrangement of parts to Fig. land in lockedposition. Fig.

16 is an elevation of the skate in unlocked posit-ion, Fig. 1'7 being adetail of certain parts near the heel of the skate.

The screw-spindle S carries the nut m, sliding in the groove to of thesole-plate T and bearing the heel-clasp b. The square screwhead K slidesin the wing-key a, revolving in the heel-support p. Said screw-spindle Scarries at its other end a cross-head n with double bolts, to which arepivoted on both sides of the blade L the armso of the kneelevers o andr. The arms r 'r of the kneelever are pivoted at the front end to thebolt B of the shank of the sole-clasp.

The pivot-bolt B slides in the ordinary way in the groove a of thesole-plate T, and the shanks ttofthe sole-clasps are also provided withgrooves, so as to move about the guidebolts E, fixed to the sole-plateT. I

- It is obvious that the sole-clasps will be moved nearer together andthe heel-clasp moved backward when the knee of the levers 0 r is forcedupward, and that these parts can be moved in an opposite direction whenthe knee-lever is moved downward. The movementof the knee-levers o risefiected by means of the levers w w, which are pivoted to the under sideof the sole-plate at q q. The arms 0 of the knee-lever are likewiseconnected with the levers w w by means of the pin N, moving in the slotA.

To the inside of the forward ends of the levers w it, which are made ofelastic material, are pivoted the shanks of the locking 80. devices 1The upper ends of the lockingpieces 3 are securely fastened together bymeans of a rivet-bolt 2'. The other ends of these devices grasp underthe levers w w by means of their outwardly-bent extremities ff for thepurpose of lifting these levers out of the supporting-points as :0,which are arranged in the closing-piece V, secured to the sole-plate T.These supporting-points are in the shape of recesses 00 x, the lowerpart 0 of the piece V being in the form of a head It, as shown. Thelocking devices 3 lie under this head and sdmewhat open. Then thehook-shaped clasp of the ends of such device is pressed downward, thehead 7.: enters between like a wedge and the levers w ware forced apartuntil they can slide sidewis down the head 76.

To the levers 'w w are connected the arms in, which are pivoted at G andwhich are se- 10o cured both in a parallel and a perpendicular positionby the spring M.

The spring R, securing the flap 'P in its closed position, extends underthe sole-plate 1 veniently enter.

T and here rests upon the screw-spindle S. Any possibly backward motionof the screwspindle S, when the skate is open, Fig. 3, and consequentlythe locking of the skate, is thereby prevented.

hen using the skate, the levers w to must be first locked. Thesole-clasps are then drawn apart from each other by the hand so far thatthe shoe to which the skate is to be fixed can be placed between theclasps. Then by turning the wing-key c the heel-clasp Z) is displacedsufiiciently to allow the heel to con The shoe must now be placed on thesole-plate and the screw-spindle S turned until the heel-clasp abutsagainst the shoe-heel,whereupon (byfurther turning) the screw-spindle S,together with the crosshead n, the jointed levers r, the pivot-bolt B,and the shanks of the sole-clasps t, sliding along the studs E, areforced forward and the sole-clasps close themselves. WVhen the skate isset tight, the wing-key c is fixed in the ordinary way by means of theelastic flap P, one of the wings of the key being held in a grooveprovided in said flap.

For removing the skate it is sufficient to push down the hook-shapedpart of the lockin g device y, whereby the levers w w are lifted fromtheir rests x w and moved in a downward direction. Hereby the knees ofthe levers 0 'r are moved downward also, and the skate is opened. Torefasten, the arm 10 must be folded downward. The shoe can then beplaced thereon, as theskate is sufficiently supported by the said armand the end of the blade. The open skate is then stepped on, whereby theclosing-levers w w are forced in their rests m x, it being understoodthat the arms w are longer than the height of the blade. As the levers ww are forced upward the jointed levers 0 1', which are connected withthe same, are straightened and the clasps firmly pushed against theshoe. Finally the arm w is closed against the foot by sliding forward.

Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent a skate similar to the construction abovedescribed, the only difference being that the locking device is locatedat the heel end of the skate. In this construction the free ends of thelevers 10 w? are located under the heel part of the skate. The groove a,in which the pivot-bolt B of the arms 15 t of the sole-clasp slides, isplaced more to the middle of the sole-plate '1. The arms t t of thesole-claspsand the slots in the same run in a direction toward theforward part of the skate. The rests w m are arranged on both sides ofthe heel-supportsp along the heel-support p, serving as a closing-piece,but on the piece it, fixed under the heel and similar to the head of theabove-described closing-piece V, Fig. 4. The movement of the lockingdevices 1 is limited with respect to the levers 10 10 by the pins f fpassing over the upper surface of the device. The skate is adjusted inthe same manner as described before.

In Figs. 9,10, 1], l2, and 13 a skate is represented in which the bladeitself is used as a locking-lever, and for this purpose the soleplateand blade are not rigidly connected.

The construction of the skate, as shown in the drawings, is as follows:The jointed connection between the sole-plateT and the blade L isobtained by the heel-support 19 which is rigidly attached to thesole-plate T, being pivoted' at s to the blade L. .The swinging distanceof these pivoted parts attached to each arms r are extended over theknees and bent down outwardly. These extens1ons,servmg as supports tothe open skate, are indicated in i the accompanying drawings by theletter 10. The blade L is connected with the sole-plate T in the mannerbelow described. The connecting-piece it consists of'two fiat stripsarranged at both sides of the forward support of the sole-plate andprovided with slots e, moving about studs 2 The forward end of the piecea is pivotally connected with the 1 locking device if.

box V, fastened to the blade L and which forms the middle support of thesole-plate T. A hook 00 fastened to the sole-plate T, extends in the boxand is adapted to hold the end of the piece a. In the side walls of thebox V are formed the slots A, in which the studs N of the arms 0 slide.The movable connection of the blade L, serving as closinglever, with theknee-levers o r is thus obtained. The foremost support of the soleplatehas a projection h corresponding with a hole in the sole-plate T. Theconnectingpiece to is normally held in the box V by means of a spiralspring F. I

The use of this skate is as follows: After the sole and heel clasps havebeen fastened to the shoe in the same way as in the skatespreviouslydescribed the locking device 3 is forced down. The connecting-piece it,under the action of the spiral spring F, is drawn back, and the end ofsaid piece to is drawn out of the hook 02 The blade L is then turneddownward at the pivot-bolt .9. Hereby the knee-levers 0 rconnecting-with the blade by means of the stud N in the slots A, arelikewise forced downward. The joint of The rear end of the con- Ynecting-piece is cut obliquely and rests in a i 95 the same is likewisedrawn down and thesoleclasps and heel-clasps are removed from the Ushoe. The latter can then be removed from the sole-plate.

The skate finds a suiiicient basis of support to enable it to standupright in the sidewisebent supporting-arms 20 10 and the blade. Torefasten the skate to the shoe, it is simply necessary to tread on thesole-plate T. Hereby the hook 00 enters into the box V, thereby actingupon the obliquely-cut head of the connecting-piece u, which is pushedback. When the hook 00 is forced sufficiently far into the box, thepiece a, under the action of the spring F, automatically enters into thehook and in such a manner brings about the rigid connection of thesole-plate and the blade. In closing the skate the knee-levers 0 7' mustbe extended and the clasps holding the shoe are forced against the same,as described.

In Figs. 14:, 15, 16, and 17 is represented a skate which is similar tothe one above described, but the closing mechanism is here located underthe heel part. The difference in this skate and the one above describedis as follows: The sole-plate T and the blade L are connected at theforward end by a pivot 5 The middle support D consists of two parts, onehalf, D, being fastened to the blade L and the other half, D, to thesole-plate T. The two parts are surrounded by a strong spiral spring M,which holds the supporting halves together and continually forces thesole-plate T and the blade L apart. The screw-spindle S lies with itshead K under the middle of the sole plate T. The screw-threaded end,together with the cross-head fitted with double studs, is placed in thedirection of the heel. The pivot-bolt B and the arms 29* of thesole-clasps are similarly constructed, as shown in Figs. 5 to 8. Thearms of the knee-levers 0 r are extended beyond their knees. Theseextensions of the'arms o are provided with slots A By these slots thelever-arms o are guided by the bolt N which is placed in the heelsupport19 In the same manner the connecting-piece u'.is guided by the bolt Nwhich passes through a slot of the piece located in the support 19. Thehook so is fixed to the soleplate T above the piece a. The opening ofthe piece it occurs under the influence of an angular lever 3 pivoted atz to a flap-shaped contrivance of the heel-support p. The lever if actsupon the piece it by means of a slot in the bolt catching the piece. Thespiral spring F forces the lever 3 and the piece M, respectively, alwaysinto the locking position. The fastening and loosening of the skate areeffectedin asimilar manner as is the skate described under Figs. 9 to13. By movin g the lever g in a downward direction the piece a is drawn,as shown, out of the hook 00*, whereupon the sole-plate T and the bladeL are forced apart by the pressure of the spiral spring M and turnaround the pivot 8 The skate now opens, as, owing to the parting of thesole-plate T from the blade L next to the heel parts, the lever-arm 0which is connected with the heel-support p resting on' the blade L, andconsequently also the lever-arm 0 and its extensions 20, which are bentdownward, are forced downward, whereby the clasps of the skate areseparated. The skate can in this condition be put on, as sufficientsupporting-points exist in the blade L and the arms 10 If the foot benow placed upon the open skate, the sole-plate T is turned downwardafter a compression of the spiral spring M. The hook x presses on theobliquely-cut head -of the piece a, whereby the latter is pushed backuntil it can spring into the opening of the eyelet underthe impulse ofthe spiral spring F. By the approach of the sole-plate T and the blade Lthe leverarms 0 are raised, together with the leverarms The knee-levers0 r are extended, and thereby the drawing in of the sole and heel claspsto the shoe is effected.

Now, having described our improvements, we claim as our invention- 1 Thecombination in a skate-fastening, of a knee-lever 0, 7 a lever to foroperating the said knee-lever, and supports 10 pivoted on said lever 20,and a spring-lock adapted to hold the supports to both in its upper andlower positions, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a skate-fastening, of a knee-lever 0 r, a lever wfor operating said knee-lever, a screw S for pushing the kneelever,sole-clamps t, a pivot for said soleclamps 75 adapted to movelongitudinally on the skate and operatively connected with saidknee-lever, and heel-clamps operatively connected with said screw,substantially as described.

Signed at Breslau, Germany, this 7th day of January, A. D. 1896.

HERMANN THIELSCHER. PAUL THIELSOHER. \Vitnesses:

WALTER BROTNER, HERRMANN BARTSCH.

